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Wisconsin 2017 Fall Turkey Drawing Complete; Estimate of leftover permits Updated with final stats

August 18, 2017 by Charlie 2 Comments

Update: 5:00 PM 8/18/17 the official leftover fall turkey permit numbers are posted. Scroll down the page for table and link to WDNR page.

The 2017 fall turkey hunting drawing has been completed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Notification cards will be mailed very soon. In the meantime, hunters can check their Go Wild account for their application status; look under “current licenses.”

Leftover fall turkey hunting tags will go on sale Saturday, August 26 at 10a. Turkey hunters may purchase one permit per day until all permits are sold out.

Estimated Leftover Permits for Fall 2017 turkey hunt:

Zone 1 – 15,000+

Zone 2 – 5000+

Zone 3 – 18000+

Zone 4 – 8000-

Zone 5 – 150

No permits are leftover in zones 6 or 7.

When the leftover permit statistics are verified the exact number will be posted on the;

2017 Fall Turkey Hunting Leftover permit availability page.

Update the final leftover turkey permit numbers are posted. Here is a copy of the WDNR table. Click the link above to visit the WDNR page.

Zone	Remaining Permits
Zone 1	15,486
Zone 2	5,073
Zone 3	18,531
Zone 4	7,936
Zone 5	180
Zone 6	0
Zone 7	0

Permits are $5.00 for 10 and 11-year-olds, $10.00 for residents, and $15.00 for nonresidents.

Please note that at the time you purchase your permit you will be required to purchase a fall turkey license. If you did not buy a spring turkey license, you would also need to buy a Wild Turkey Stamp.

2017 Wisconsin wild turkey fall season dates;

Zones 1-5 – Opens, September 16, 2017, Close December 31, 2017

Zone 6 and 7 – Opens, September 16, 2017, Close November 17, 2017

Wisconsin Collector Stamps; How to order

August 17, 2017 by Charlie 1 Comment

All 2017 Wisconsin wild turkey hunters can request a collector turkey stamp.

There was a time when hunters and fisherman received the actual stamp at the time of in person purchase. Nowadays we all buy our sporting licenses digitally, and the stamp fee is listed on our receipt to prove we have paid. For the most part, hunters just pocket their receipt or in some cases load it onto a smart phone and head for the fields, marshes, and forests. In all the

2016 Wild turkey stamp is still available to license buyers, for the asking.

the excitement of preparing for the hunt, the last thing we think about is an artistic stamp.

Not long ago the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources announced the artists who won the collector stamp competition. This news got me to thinking about, “back in the day”… where upon it dawned on me that I have a lot of the old stamps. Are these new stamps available even to those who purchase licenses online? The answer is YES.

2017 Wisconsin great lakes salmon trout stamp

To see the contest results and rules for upcoming stamp competition go the Wisconsin DNR website and enter key word “stamps” in the search bar. The artists compete for the honor of being the best; they are not compensated monetarily, their work is a donation to the cause. Of course by competing they get publicity for their work and bragging rights if they win. My grandpa also said, “it ain’t bragging if you do it.” and “no brag, just fact.”

2017 Wisconsin Pheasant Stamp

2016 WI state waterfowl stamp

To obtain stamps for previously purchased stamp privileges:
If you purchased a license for the previous or current year with the Wildlife or Fish Stamp privilege(s) you can obtain the stamps by the following methods:

Request your stamp online by completing the Online Order Form;
At any DNR Service Center.

Anyone can purchase Wisconsin collector stamps by:

by mail using the Collector Stamp Order (form 9400-567) [PDF]
at any DNR Service Center.

The funds raised through the purchase of these stamps are used to improve habitat. I encourage more people to step up and do their part

2017 WI trout stamp

to improve wildlife and fishery habitat across the state of Wisconsin. Some folks are probably wondering why charlie has the fishing stamps; each year I purchase the Conservation Patron license, this license includes the financial requirements for almost all the outdoor activities in WI. Even though I do not use the state park system, rarely fish and only sometimes trap I recognize these are important aspects of outdoor recreation that deserve support so that all can enjoy pursuits of the outdoors now and in the future. Money well spent.

2016 WI pheasant stamp

Leupold LTO Thermal Tracker Viewer; User Review

August 16, 2017 by Charlie 6 Comments

A hunter who is planning to purchase a Leupold LTO thermal tracker to use for finding downed game–Save your money. If you are thinking of using this unit for security, then it might be worth it. The LTO works for seeing intruders outside in cleared areas around buildings if there is nothing in the way. In other words, it can function as a limited night vision scope.

In July Cabelas gave me a special price, $499 plus free shipping. I’d been reading the professional/celebrity hunter reviews regarding this tracker. Heck, sounded like the solution to those difficult tracking problems particularly during the early season bow hunts when the Wisconsin vegetation makes seeing a downed deer or bear nearly impossible until you bump into it.

Sadly, this does not perform well under field conditions.

For many years I’ve been a big fan of Leupold optics, so I expected this tracker to work as advertised. Sadly, it does not live up to the hype. Here the selling points:

Operating Temperature: -4F to 140F – The temps I used it ranged from 65F – 90F. If anything was between the target and the tracker heat interference was so intense the target could not be discerned.
Detection Distance: 600 Yards- No way this thing can help you see anything at 600 yards distance. In the dark, looking for some horses and cows standing 200 yards distance. Nope, could not identify them, they were just “heat lumps” mixed in with the heat rising from the pasture and fence posts. If a deer had been down somewhere in that field, the hunter would have had to walk around checking out thousands of heat signatures. My flashlight did a better job of locating the animals.
Six optional thermal palettes and adjustable reticle – Yes has these but they were not helpful dealing with any background or foreground heat signatures. Heat from everything; trees, grass, brush and the gravel road showed up on the screen as blurry colored heat spots.
Find game using thermal imaging – The prime reason I purchased. Wanted this LTO to work and I tried to find ways to make it work for finding downed game. I killed a rabbit for some fresh animal blood to experiment with, not to worry we ate the rabbit meat. I could not see the blood spots using the LTO during the day or in the dark. The rabbit lying dead in the lawn was obscured by background heat on the screen even though I could plainly see it. It seemed like the rabbit’s fur blocked its body heat. The only heat was on its nose and the openings of the ears.

Fur blocks body heat!?

Yes, it does.

My Siberian husky has a lot dense fur (as do deer), and only her nose and eyes showed up on the Leupold LTO. My Vizsla has short hair; his body heat signature showed. However, when he entered long wispy grass, he disappeared from the LTO screen. It is puzzling that anyone who has sorted through a challenging trail would find this unit helpful. I suspect those reviewers who claim that the Leupold LTO is going to make hunters “lazy trackers” because it is so easy to find downed game have not used this product in the field or bothered to test it under any semblance of conditions on the ground.

I concluded, after using the Leupold thermal tracker under conditions commonly encountered while hunting that it will be more of a hindrance than a help. There are no technological shortcuts to finding game animals. Hunters must train themselves and continue to practice good woodsmanship. Thankfully, I purchased it from Cabelas and was able to return it for a full refund.

How Hen and Poults Roost Photo Essay

July 17, 2017 by Charlie 8 Comments

Thanks to Tennesse Magazine for these photos

Wild turkey on the roost with her poults trying to give them the best shelter that she can provide.

Giving shelter with her wings

Notice the large lateral branches the hen has chosen. When scouting note trees with these types of branching, wild turkeys favor them for roosting.

Looks like the poults are getting unruly–Yelp!

Attention, something is coming our way.

Notice how small these poults are and they’re sitting up in a large tree already.

Looks to be more peaceful while the kids were in the eggs.

Looks like the nesting hen is turning her eggs.

Please post your captions in the comments. Enjoy.

Wyoming Snow Turkeys

July 13, 2017 by Charlie 38 Comments

In many parts of the country, July spells are hot, or July suffers hot spells, in any case, the heat can be oppressive. While all this is happening memories of snow and frozen turkeys sound extra appealing. After experiencing an intoxicating Colorado turkey hunt that came to an end much faster than anticipated any “regular” turkey hunter would try to figure out where to hunt next. Well, Wyoming is on the way home from Colorado to Wisconsin, right?

At times it seems like Nebraska is everywhere

On the drive north to Wyoming, hey forgot about having to traverse Nebraska too, the weather forecast for Sundance not only contained rain. But the rain was expected to turn into snow by morning in the shadow of Devil’s Tower. Change of plans on the fly seemed a prudent choice. Check the Wyoming map, err; What Wyoming map? A stop at the Sidney Cabelas fixed that problem with the purchase of aWyoming onXmap GPS map chip. Cell phones do not work where there is prime hunting in the hills of Wyoming.

Wunderground has personal weather stations all over the country for which they provide point weather forecasts. Due to incoming weather, my decision was to hunt much further south than usual where only rain was supposed to fall during the night. The map chip got me to a remote campsite in an area with lots of potential and high enough that I should be able to hear morning turkeys for quite a distance.

Totally content, sipping a hot cup of coffee in a snug camp I figured I’d better refresh the old memory about the ins and outs of Wyoming hunting regulations. “You have got to be kidding!?” my brain silently screamed, a habitat stamp is required, and the kindly elder lady at the gas station forgot to mention when I asked if this is all the license needed to hunt turkeys. Oh, well, bless her, my mother wouldn’t have told me any different.

Turkey hunting destinies do not work out in obvious ways. The jeep’s bouncing along in the dark on my camp’s trail signaling the 160+ mile habitat stamp round trip was nearly the end. I now felt like something great was going to happen in the morning. Thank goodness that Shopko had still been open on this fateful Sunday.

At my predawn awakening, it was evident by the sag in the tent, that snow had moved further south. The good news, the temperature was

Wyoming spring turkey hunt welcome mat

well below freezing which ensured the Colorado gobbler was frozen solid, likely for the duration of the expedition.

At this point in the story, I’d love to write about toms on every mountain top angrily gobbling the snow away and stomping in practically tripping over their beards. But, alas, that is not the way the day went. This turkey hunter did his share, make that more than his share of tromping or slipping up then down hill and dale to the tune of a gobble-less day.

My body tells time, there is no sense to wearing a watch or checking a phone see what the time is, a turkey hunter must learn to operate on turkey time. Whatever in the world that is exactly. Unmistakably, it was approaching evening meaning it would be a good idea to move from my after dinner relaxation and into putting a gobbler to bed mode. Camp is remote, thankfully, I shouldn’t have to travel far, just to point over there and make some turkey talk.

Stretching as I stood up from a good camp meal I put the wingbone call to my lips and let loose some plaintive lost yelps immediately answered by the first gobble of the day. The sound echoed making it difficult to tell where it emanated from, yelped again. By golly, those birds are close and getting closer fast!

Grabbed the shotgun and started heading for some kind of a setup. As any experienced turkey hunter can attest a “setup” can be overrated in particular when you see the strutters heading your way across an open alpine meadow. Hunter movement is not helpful in this case, so I artlessly hide standing behind the closest towering Ponderosa pine.

The gobbling has stopped for what seems an eternity. A peek to see what is going is imperative in my mind. The peek reveals two toms strutting on their toes as if a pair of ballerinas. At thirty yards it’s time to get to the shooting part. Mountain Merriams are not noted for how close they get to a hunter.

As I stepped around and even with the tree keeping my left shoulder in contact the far gobbler drops out of strut and begins eating! The near tom stays in half strut while extending his neck to get a better look at the expanding tree.

This is why it is important to camp where the game is rather than staying miles away.

Perhaps he thought the shotgun was just a growing branch. Somethings we will never know.

Nightfall brought clear sky with bright stars.

Nothing to do now except enjoy the evening.

A Sensational Turkey Hunter Goof Up

July 6, 2017 by Charlie 8 Comments

Luck is an indispensable asset during any successful turkey hunt. Not just luck at the beginning but it requires luck at every intersection of the hunt. Take for example one of my recent hunts during Wisconsin’s last spring season. I had a surefire plan, also known in turkey hunting parlance as a preconceived notion.

The previous day I had a six and half hour calling duel with a blabber beak type of gobbler who did not have the good manners to come and show himself. We introduced ourselves at 8:45 A and chatted back and forth until 3:15 P. Tried the silent treatment on him several times, needed a break from all the noise not to mention the old fingers were in need of rest. Plus the wingbone pucker needed to ease off my face. But each time he matched the silence while moving off 100+ yards to then give that nana you can’t get me gobbles, this only made me more determined to kill him. No luck, so all that night as I slept, I dreamed up – The Plan.

After the three miles foggy Mississippi River boat ride, the tedious wet slog to Mr. Babbler Beak’s haunt begin. The determination to get this particular bird was dominating my thoughts even though a wrong step could have frigid water pouring into my knee boots. Swamp turkeys can be most provoking.

Less than a quarter of the way into the plan an urgent gobble erupts. An unaccounted for occurrence in the hunt is an intersection; the hunter must decide to continue or change of mind. An easy decision, change of the plan. I figured out a doable setup on a relatively dry finger of land, a few soft tree yelps and settled in for fly down.

Air swooshing through feathers followed by a dull thud marked his landing. Scratching out the most urgent yelps I could muster brought a robust series of approaching gobbles. Down went the slate and up with the gun, just in time he’s right there in strut with two hens flanking him. When he moves clear, the blast swirls the fog, and I launch up to claim my prize.

Except, there is no prize laying there. What the heck? I saw him go down, after searching the area I turn around to go back to the setup, perhaps I’m looking in the wrong spot. Uh, no, that ripped down sapling caught all the shot. The tom is unscathed.

I Swear there really was a turkey there, while sitting against this tree.

Here I am at another intersection, is this a sign to go on with the original plan or stay in the area and pursue this lucky gobbler.

Working my way in the direction the hens went pays off. They flush, rising straight up above the oaks heading different directions, excellent they are out the picture. The tom should miss them at some point and call out for his ladies. I grin when he does – I’ll do the answering.

One of the hens had a nest on an elevated piece of ground to keep it out of the coming flood.

Like the hands on a clock, I move forward listening carefully. At different points, a couple of does break cover crashing off leaving behind their well-hidden fawns. Who can pass up taking those pictures?

Need to be careful where a hunter steps today.

Another one! I really have to watch my step.

Gobbling begins in earnest somewhere up ahead, can’t pinpoint it exactly as I continue moving forward until I realize he is on another strip of land to the east. The water is too deep to cross so backtracking is required to a more amicable crossing point. Dang river has been at flood stage all spring making stealthy approaches on longbeards difficult at best.

The woodland is open, full of mature maples and oaks with good visibility on the strip he chose. This is good news in that I have a better chance of seeing him and bad news, he has an even better opportunity to see me. Move down a bank to sneak along the water’s edge, slipping on the mud occasionally but this breaks up my outline while allowing to see.

The tom’s course yelps carry through the mist to my ears telling me it is time to pick a spot and start talking turkey. Of course, these spots are never perfect, my seat sinks down, no matter it is showtime. My first calls are answered with robust gobbling that is closing in. And, of course, he is across the water from me as he walks by out of range. I amp up my calling as soon as his head goes behind some trees this causes him to spin back and walk his back trail right past out of range. My calls continue every time he can’t see me, his gobbles start to fade with distance. My hope is he is going cross back to my side somewhere up ahead. Taking advantage of the pause in action I reposition into a convenient blow down which provides me better cover and good visibility.

There’s a white/blue head bobbing its way towards me, stopping to look for danger and hens. At fifty yards he goes behind and large maple,

Turkey hunting is great if for no other reason plans change

seemed like he stayed there for an eternity. When a gobbler is searching like this silence is a turkey hunter’s friend. His juking head preceded him as came out trotting in full strut facing my position. At thirty yards dropped out of strut to start yelping. I won’t claim to know

The shot caught him mid yelp.

what he was saying in “turkey speak” but those were his last words.

Stressed Hen Turkey Struts and Drags Wings

July 6, 2017 by Charlie 2 Comments

Submitted by AWTDA

It’s a hard life, trying to protect seven babies by yourself! This hyper hen was in a near perpetual 3/4 tail strut, almost dragging her wings,
warning anybody that sees her she’s a formidable threat. Notice her head position is always on alert, she rarely gets something to eat herself, always on a lookout for danger. Where are them big tough gobblers, when a mother could use a little help around here?

Do hens suffer from the loss of gobblers? For more tiptoeing around the issue see AWTDA

What did the Hen say to Her Poults Before Crossing the Road

July 4, 2017 by Charlie 9 Comments

Updated July 5, 2017

Courtesy of American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association

Notice how smart birds are, that they know enough to get off the road when a car is coming? As if they tell the young ones: “Be careful crossing the road, your great, great, great Aunt Matilda was killed by a car and don’t you forget it!”

How many are left?

What’s the odds of one hen’s 13 poults surviving until 2 weeks old? We
got a good count when they crossed the road this morning.

14 turkeys survived the fireworks, a 1/4 mile from their roost last night. Watch a 25 second video in Vivid Color from this morning

Video of Wisconsin Wild Turkey Hen with Poults; Video added

June 29, 2017 by Charlie 10 Comments

Contributed and Written By; American Wild Turkey Hunting Dog Association

Here is another hen with her brood this morning. A beautiful hatch, despite that it has rained 15 out of the last 17 days here. Either it’s an old wives tale that getting wet will kill poults when less than 3 days old, or Wisconsin turkeys have evolved to tolerate it.
I count 13 poults. Only saw the one hen, but I suspect her cohort(s) was/were nearby. Two or more related hens will often lay eggs in the same nest, take turns setting, serving as sentinel and raising the brood, with adjacent barren hens and male turkeys announcing danger in the neighborhood.

Notice this hen has a slight beard – never shoot bearded hens.

How old do you think these poults are on June 29, 02017?

At 44.27° N Latitude in Wisconsin.

Update June 30, 2017 – Next day video

Going the other direction today. Four poults flew 3′ off the ground, by tonight they’ll roost in the trees.

Hard to Stop Turkey Hunting

June 28, 2017 by Charlie 8 Comments

The last day of Wisconsin’s 2017 wild turkey hunt dawned quiet, very quiet; at least as far as turkey sounds are concerned. The usual bird rush hour was in its normal fine form, but on this morning the turkeys apparently had other plans. The season has been rewardingly long this spring from the first week in April hunting Colorado Rios, moving up to Wyoming Black Hills for a snowy Merriam and back to

Take time to teach the next generation of hunters.

Wisconsin for some youth hunt mentoring until my first Wisconsin tag validation the last week of April. Not a morning missed, rain, shine, or somewhere in between and now here I set wearily reflecting on it all to the sounds of silence, the 30th of May with no complaints or regrets. Yeah, I missed a turkey or two and zigged when a zag was needed more often than I care to remember. It’s not good to focus on negative thoughts because if you do, they become self-fulfilling prophecies.

As the morning birdie rush hours fade into memory, I stand, stretch and give thanks. Wild turkey season has come to an end for me…Until later while walking the dogs, a lone gobbler takes to flight out of the VPA field and glides lazily to the opposite woodlot. It’s 1:30 in the afternoon, the season is still open, and I have two unpunched tags left. VPA is private land that the Wisconsin DNR leases for public access, the field is open for hunting but as is so typical the woodlot is not enrolled, so it is closed to hunting without permission of the landowner.

The internal debate heats up; tiredness makes its nagging request just to forget him and rest. While the prey drive says “two open tags and several hours to hunt a gobbler you can call out to kill.”

I feel sorry for the poor dogs after promising them on my return this morning that my hunt was over until the fall season and Vic would get the hunt the next time. Funny thing about plans, they are subject to change, and here I am setting up in some long grass barely able to see the freshly planted corn field, calling on a tongue teaser to what seems like wide open empty spaces.

2017 spring’s most effective call for me

As 3:00 rolls around my sanity in some quarters would be questioned and the of quitting continues to grow in appeal. The sun seems searing in intensity; you’d think the biting gnats would have their wings burned off, sadly it just appears to energize their bloodlust.

Time crawls to only 3:15; Has my watch stopped? Ok, enough for one spring; as I roll off the gobbler lounger to take a final 360 look around a neon blue spot moves on my right…How in the heck did he get that close without being seen? And, as always, these birds come in from the direction least expected.

Rarely, is movement helpful when a standing tom is staring at you at close range. However, he must have thought another turkey was moving around in the long grass causing him to up periscope for a better look-see, a fatal mistake. I rose to my knees and looked at the twitching gobbler through the shot-tunnel in the grass. Must be a mirage! Another tom is closing fast, heading directly to the dead bird and the end of my barrel.

Two toms, side by side.

For a moment I thought it was just a dream, so I waited for the empty field to rematerialize. But you know, the weight of 40+ pounds of turkey over your back brings reality into focus. On the half mile stroll back to the truck there was a moment or two when the memory of turkey tags still available and the season does not close until 8p something…hmm.